"Best Gazpacho" Seville Style for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

Another sticky weekend. I was promised trade winds and I do not feel any. Luckily I pinned several cold soups, mostly from The New York Times and so I decided to try this one titled as the "Best Gazpacho"--a creamy blended soup in the style of Seville, Spain. It also happens to be vegan, always a bonus.

I skipped the step of straining the soup after blending the soup and topped it with a toasted bread square, plus extras for dipping.

 
The New York Times says, "More of a drink than a soup, served in frosted glasses or chilled tumblers, gazpacho is perfect when it is too hot to eat but you need cold, salt and lunch all at the same time. Gazpacho is everywhere in Seville, Spain, where this recipe comes from, but it's not the watered-down salsa or grainy vegetable purée often served in the United States. This version has no bread and is a creamy orange-pink rather than a lipstick red. That is because a large quantity of olive oil is required for making delicious gazpacho, rather than take-it-or-leave it gazpacho. The emulsion of red tomato juice, palest green cucumber juice and golden olive oil produces the right color and a smooth, almost fluffy texture."

Best Gazpacho
Slightly Adapted from Julie Moskin via NewYorkTimes.com
(8-12 Appetizer Servings)

About 2 lbs good ripe tomatoes, cored & roughly chopped into chunks
1 Italian frying (cubanelle) pepper or another long, light green pepper, such as Anaheim, cored, seeded & roughly cut into chunks 
1 cucumber about 8-inches long, peeled & cut into chunks
1 small mild sweet onion, peeled & cut into chunks
1 clove garlic
2 tsp sherry vinegar + more to taste
salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, + more to taste & for drizzling if desired

Combine tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, onion and garlic in a blender or, if using a hand blender, in a deep bowl. (If necessary, work in batches.) Blend at high speed until very smooth, at least 2 minutes, pausing occasionally to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.

With the motor running, add the vinegar and 2 teaspoons salt. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil. The mixture will turn bright orange or dark pink and become smooth and emulsified, like a salad dressing. If it still seems watery, drizzle in more olive oil until texture is creamy.
 
Strain the mixture through a strainer or a food mill, pushing all the liquid through with a spatula or the back of a ladle. Discard the solids. (Note: I used a high-speed blender and felt no need to strain my soup.) Transfer to a large pitcher (preferably glass) and chill until very cold, at least 6 hours or overnight.

Before serving, adjust the seasonings with salt and vinegar. If soup is very thick, stir in a few tablespoons ice water. Serve in glasses, over ice if desired, or in a bowl. A few drops of olive oil on top are a nice touch.

 
Notes/Results: Is this the "best" gazpacho? I don't know that I would claim that but it is very, very good. Amazing how emulsifying it with the olive oil makes it so creamy and rich. I also like how the mild pepper and sweet onion and garlic give it just the slightest kick at the back of the throat. Easy to toss together, tastes delicious, I would happily make it again.

Let's look into the Souper (soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays Kitchen 

 
Tina of Squirrel Head Manor brought Jamie Oliver's Chicken Stew and said, "This stew was inspired by bits of leftover chicken from enchiladas I made this weekend. There was also leftover rice and a few loose veggies in the fridge so I’m taking it all and making a stew for I Heart Cooking Club’s Potluck theme. I always have good intentions of joining in and time gets away from me, except this week!"

 
Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog made Roasted Summer Zucchini Soup and says, "Soup in the summer? Why not? Don't overlook this exceptional soup just because its hot outside. What spells summer more than fresh basil, fresh mint, and zucchini? Summer soups can be enjoyed hot or chilled. Personally, I like my soup hot. However, if you prefer, this soup tastes equally as good chilled or at room temperature."

 
About Souper Sundays:

Souper Sundays (going since 2008) now has a format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches at any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 
If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up to Souper Sundays in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and add a link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to this post or my blog on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (completely optional).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Have a happy, healthy week!